Six Hundred - 六百間 [ろっぴゃっけん, roppyakken] is a hanafuda game for 2 or 3 players. Unlike many games, which may last a dozen rounds, Six Hundred tends to be over in less than 3 hands due to its scoring system. Some unique characteristics of the game include its usage of the 
Rain Man as a wild card and its treatment of the 
Bush Warbler card as a de-facto Bright card.
Six Hundred was also introduced in Korea after World War II, and Koreans developed own scoring rules and variants. In Korea, the game is called ‘육백’ (Yukbaek - ‘Six Hundred’ in Korean) or ‘삼봉’ (Sambong - ‘Three Peaks’ in Korean).
¶ Setup
Game setup involves choosing a dealer - 親 [おや, oya], shuffling the deck, and distributing the initial cards. Any other house rules (such as which yaku to use and their values) should also be established at this point in order to keep gameplay smooth and fair.
¶ The Deal
Once the dealer has been selected, he or she shuffles the deck and sets up the table according to the number of players. If there are two participants, the dealer sends 8 cards face up to the table and 8 cards face down to each player. If three people are playing, the field will instead receive 6 cards and each player will receive 7. Any remaining cards in the deck will make up the draw pile.
If a complete suit of 4 cards was dealt to the field, a misdeal is declared and the same player shuffles and deals anew. If all 4 cards of a suit were dealt to a player’s hand, they have to declare a misdeal too (in some variants the player may choose to not declare a misdeal).
If 3 cards of a suit were dealt to the field, they are stacked together to signify that they will all be captured whenever the fourth is played.
Players then check their hands for any of the combinations described in the following section before the typical Hana Awase-style gameplay begins.
¶ Lucky Hands (variant)
There are three “Lucky Hands” - 手役 [てやく, teyaku] that one might be dealt in Six Hundred. If a player receives any of these combinations in their hand, they may reveal all cards that are part of that combination at the beginning of the round to earn points, according to the following chart.
Using Lucky Hands yaku must be agreed upon before the game.
| Value | Name of Lucky Hand | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | All Chaff 総ガス [そうがす, sōgasu] |
All cards in hand are 0-point cards. Note that this excludes the  Yellow Paulownia, which is worth 10 points in this game. |
| 200 | Hand Three 手三 [てさん, tesan] |
Hand contains at least three cards of one suit. |
| 400 | Double Hand Three 二手三 [ふたてさん, futatesan] |
Hand contains at least three of a kind in two different suits. Overrides Hand Three. |
While Hand Three and Double Hand Three are mutually exclusive, either of them can stack with All Chaff.
¶ Gameplay
Once any Lucky Hands have been revealed and scored, players re-conceal their hands and begin the round. The dealer is the first to play, after which play moves counterclockwise until each player has exhausted their hands.
¶ Turns
On their turn, a player chooses a single card from their hand and plays it to the table.
- If it belongs to the same month as another card on the table, then the cards match, and this matching pair is moved to the player’s score pile.
- If the played card matches with two cards on the table, then the player may choose which one they capture.
- If the played card matches three cards on the table, then all three are captured along with the played card (this is to prevent cards from becoming ‘stuck’ on the table and unable to be captured). To help in recognising this case, three cards of the same month on the table are often collected into a small pile at the beginning of the round.
- If the played card does not match any card, then it remains on the table, and may subsequently be captured by other played cards.
If a card is played that matches something on the table, then the player must capture, as described above. However, there is no obligation to play a card that matches something, even if the player has one in their hand; they may, if they wish, elect to play a card that matches nothing on the table.
As is typical of hanafuda games, each player’s score pile should be kept face-up and laid out on the table, so that its contents are fully visible to all players. Ideally, the cards should also be arranged by type (Brights, Animals, Ribbons, and Chaff) to make detecting yaku easier.
After a card has been played from their hand, the player takes the top card of the draw pile, turns it face-up, and immediately plays it to the table in the same fashion.
After both cards have been played- one from the player’s hand, and one from the draw pile- the turn ends, and the next player takes their turn.
¶ Wild Card
The Rain Man card functions as a (limited) wild card in Six Hundred. This means that it can be used to match any card other than 0-point cards or other Willow cards. The exception is when the other three Willow cards are all on the field; then it will capture all of them. In addition, the Rain Man cannot be used to capture sets of 3 of any other suit.
If the wild card is on the field it may be captured using another Willow card, or using any non-0-point card (this wild capture might not be allowed in some variants).
¶ End of Round
The current round ends when all players have used up their cards. If there are any cards left on the field at this point, they simply stay there and do not play any role in scoring.
At this point, all players tally the total value of their captured cards, as well as check for any yaku made, according to the charts in the following sections. A player’s score for the round is calculated as the sum of their captured cards plus the value of any captured yaku, as follows:
Player's Score = Player's Total Card Points + Total Value of Player's Yaku.
If no player has reached 600 points, then the current scores are recorded, and a further round is played. Whoever scored the most points in the previous round becomes the dealer for the next round.
¶ End of Game
The game ends once some player reaches at least 600 points, after playing as many rounds as necessary. This player is then the winner of the game.
Should multiple players have a score of 600 or greater, then the winner is:
- The player who captured the Four Brights yaku;
- Failing that, the player who captured the Seven Ribbons yaku;
- Or, failing that, whichever player has the highest total score.
In the unlikely event of a tie, a further round may be played if desired.
Some rule sets many not recognise Four Brights or Seven Ribbons as instant wins. In these versions of the game, victory simply goes to whichever player has the highest score.
¶ Card Values
| Card Type | Value | Number in Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Brights | 50 | 5 |
| Bush Warbler |
50 | 1 |
| Other Animals | 10 | 8 |
| Ribbons | 10 | 10 |
| Yellow Paulownia |
10 | 1 |
| Other Chaff | 0 | 23 |
¶ Visual Representation
| Value | Cards |
|---|---|
| 50 |       |
| 10 |                    |
| 0 | All Chaff except Yellow Paulownia. |
¶ Typical Yaku
Note that as with most Hana Awase-style games, there is some variation in the repertoire of yaku and their scores, depending on who you ask. The following table therefore may include yaku not present in other sources, or may be missing yaku that are included in other sources.
The Viewing Yaku are mutually exclusive, but outside of that, all yaku stack: players score for all the yaku they possess at the end of the round.
| Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
¶ Bright Yaku |
||
| 600 | Four Brights 四光 [しこ, shiko] 욘코 [yonko] |
In most rule sets, Four Brights is considered an instant win, even if another player had a greater final score. |
| 150 | Pine, Paulownia, Baldy 松桐坊主 [まつきりぼうず, matsu-kiri-bōzu] 송월동 [song-wol-dong] |
|
| 150 | Big Three 大三 [おおざん, oozan] 일이삼 [il-ee-sam] |
|
¶ Ribbon Yaku |
||
| 600 | Seven Ribbons 七短 [ななたん, nanatan] 칠띠 [chiltti] |
Any 7 Ribbon cards. In some rule sets, the Willow Ribbon does not count towards this yaku, while in others it does. Seven Ribbons may also count as an instant victory, but loses to Four Brights if both are captured by different players. |
| 100 | Little Three 小三 [こざん, kozan] 홍단 [hongdan] |
The three Poetry Ribbons: |
| 100 | Blue Ribbons 青短 [あおたん, aotan] 청단 [cheongdan] |
The three Blue Ribbons: |
| 100 | Grass Ribbons 草短 [くさたん, kusatan] 초단 [chodan] |
Three specific Plain Ribbons: |
¶ Animal Yaku |
||
| 300 | Boar, Deer, Butterfly 猪鹿蝶 [いのしかちょう, inoshikachō] 이노시카 [inoshika] |
|
¶ Viewing Yaku |
||
| 300 | Gun 鉄砲 [てっぽう, teppō] 대포 [daepo] |
Note that this yaku replaces the other two Viewing Yaku; you do not score for all three individually. |
| 100 | Flower Viewing 花見 [はなみ, hanami] 빠이 [ppai] |
|
| 100 | Moon Viewing 月見 [つきみ, tsukimi] 빠이 [ppai] |
|
¶ Four-of-a-Kind Yaku |
||
| 200 | Four Rains 雨島 [あめしま, ameshima] 비조리 [bi-jori] |
 |
| 50 | Four Pines 松島 [まつしま, matsushima] |
  |
| 50 | Four Plum Blossoms 梅島 [うめしま, umeshima] |
  |
| 50 | Four Cherry Blossoms 桜島 [さくらしま, sakurashima] |
  |
| 50 | Four Wisterias 藤島 [ふじしま, fujishima] |
  |
| 50 | Four Baldies 坊主島 [ぼうずしま, bōzushima] |
  |
| 50 | Four Maples 紅葉島 [もみじしま, momijishima] |
  |
| 50 | Four Paulownias 桐島 [きりしま, kirishima] |
  |
¶ Notable Variants
- If any player has only scored 30 points or fewer during a round, all players’ scores for the round, including those for Lucky Hands, are invalidated. This negation of scoring is called fuke [ふけ, a shortened form of fukikeshi - 吹き消し (lit. blow away)]. This may not count Willow and Paulownia cards, or may not count Yaku points too.
- Players may deal 10 cards instead of 8 cards for each player in 2 player games. No cards will be left in the deck at the end of a round, and there may be Triple Hand Threes.
- The 2017 IndianWolf Studios book uses the Lightning as the wild card.
- In the Marguerite web game, the three Viewing yaku are not counted if the player who scores them has also captured a Willow card, unless they have also captured the
Crane with Sun. - The MocoGame iOS version of Six Hundred takes place over 12 rounds, with the ultimate winner being the one who has exceeded 600 points the most times in that period.
- Players may agree to set a different amount of points as the goal. For example, if the goal is 300 points, the game is called Sanbyakuken.
¶ Sanbyakuken
Sanbyakuken [三百間 - さんびゃくけん, “three hundred”] is a Roppyakken variant with rules entirely identical to Roppyakken, except that the goal is to reach 300 points instead of 600.
¶ Yamayaku
Yamayaku [ヤマヤク] is a Roppyakken variant for 2 players, played in the Tokyo district of Japan.
The game is mostly identical to Roppyakken, except that players must agree first to a certain amount of points as the goal (200 points, 300 points, 600 points, etc.), and that typically there are fewer yaku with different values, all of which stack.
| Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
¶ Bright Yaku |
||
| 150 | Pine, Paulownia, Baldy 松桐坊主 [まつきりぼうず, matsu-kiri-bōzu] |
|
| 100 | Big Three 大三 [おおざん, oozan] |
|
¶ Ribbon Yaku |
||
| 100 | Little Three 小三 [こざん, kozan] |
The three Poetry Ribbons: |
| 100 | Blue Ribbons 青短 [あおたん, aotan] |
The three Blue Ribbons: |
| 100 | Grass 草 [くさ, kusa] |
Three specific Plain Ribbons: |
¶ Animal Yaku |
||
| 300 | Boar, Deer, Butterfly 猪鹿蝶 [いのしかちょう, inoshikachō] |
|
¶ Viewing Yaku |
||
| 300 | Cannon 大砲 [たいほう, taihō] |
|
¶ Four-of-a-Kind Yaku |
||
| 200 | Four Rains 雨ゾロ [あめぞろ, amezoro] |
|
¶ Changara
Changara [チャンガラ] is a Roppyakken variant for 2 players, played in the Kanto region of Japan.
The gameplay is identical to Roppyakken, with few exceptions:
- The goal score is 300 points instead of 600. (Technically this game is a Sanbyakuken [三百間 - さんびゃくけん, “three hundred”] variant)
- Typically a best of 1, 3, 5,… (any odd number of) games are played in one session. For example, in a best of 5 games, the player who wins 3 games wins the entire session. (In this session, reaching the goal of 300 points is equivalent to winning 1 game only; to win the session, you must reach 300 points three times.)
- If four cards of the same month are dealt to the field, it is not considered a misdeal; instead, the dealer takes all 4 cards.
- There are slightly less yaku with different values.
| Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
¶ Bright Yaku |
||
| 300 | Pine, Paulownia, Baldy 松桐坊主 [まつきりぼうず, matsu-kiri-bōzu] |
|
¶ Ribbon Yaku |
||
| 150 | Poetry Ribbons 赤短 [あかたん, akatan] |
The three Poetry Ribbons: |
| 100 | Blue Ribbons 青短 [あおたん, aotan] |
The three Blue Ribbons: |
| 100 | Grass Ribbons クサケン [くさけん, kusaken] |
Three specific Plain Ribbons: |
¶ Animal Yaku |
||
| 300 | Boar, Deer, Butterfly 猪鹿蝶 [いのしかちょう, inoshikachō] |
|
¶ Viewing Yaku |
||
| 300 | Flower Viewing under the Moon 月花一杯 [つきはないっぱい, tsukihana ippai] |
Note that this yaku replaces the other two Viewing Yaku; you do not score for all three individually. |
| 100 | Flower Viewing 花見で一杯 [はなみでいっぱい, hanami de ippai] |
|
| 100 | Moon Viewing 月見で一杯 [つきみでいっぱい, tsukimi de ippai] |
|
¶ Four-of-a-Kind Yaku |
||
| For each Four-of-a-Kind Yaku you form, one of your Chaff cards becomes worth 50 points. You may move one of your captured Chaff cards to your pile of captured Brights to help with counting points. | ||
| 200 | Four Rains 雨島 [あめしま, ameshima] |
|
| 0 | Four Pines 松島 [まつしま, matsushima] |
|
| 0 | Four Plum Blossoms 梅島 [うめしま, umeshima] |
|
| 0 | Four Cherry Blossoms 桜島 [さくらしま, sakurashima] |
|
| 0 | Four Baldies 坊主島 [ぼうずしま, bōzushima] |
|
| 0 | Four Maples 紅葉島 [もみじしま, momijishima] |
|
| 0 | Four Paulownias 桐島 [きりしま, kirishima] |
|
¶ Korean Variants
Korean variants use different scoring rules after the end of a round, and round negation does not exist. Also, some yaku-related rules are different.
- In Yukbaek variant, Four Bright yaku also requires Bush Warbler, and to complete Seven Ribbons there must be Willow Ribbon. Both yakus are considered as an automatic win regardless of the score (the game ends when someone completes any of these two yakus).
- In Yukbaek variant, the highest scoring player in a round subtracts the round score of the second highest scoring player in that round, then adds it to total game score. For example, when player A/B/C scores 600/320/0 points in a round, player A adds 280 points (600 - 320) in game score and other players get nothing.
- In Sambong variant, the game uses original Japanese scoring rule but scores are rounded up to 100. For the example above, player A/B/C gets 600/400/0 points. Also, Four Brights / Seven Ribbons do not end the game, instead they score 600 ~ 1000 points / 700 points + 100 points per additional ribbon.
- Sambong variant adopts Hand Three (Yukbaek variant does not use hand yakus) and counts Hand Fours as a 300-points yaku too, but does not count All Chaffs as a yaku.
- Player may play a longer game by setting the score limit to 800 in Yukbaek variant, or playing by rounds in Sambong variant.
¶ Korean Additional Yakus
In some regions additional Ribbon yakus are used.
| Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 300 | Boar, Deer, Butterfly Ribbons 띠 이노시카 [tti inoshika] |
The Ribbons matching Boar, Deer, Butterfly: |
| 300 | Gun Ribbons 띠 대포 [tti daepo] |
The Ribbons and the Animal matching the respective Viewing Yaku: |
| 100 | Flower Viewing Ribbons 띠 빠이 [tti ppai] |
The Ribbons matching the respective Viewing Yaku: |
| 100 | Moon Viewing Ribbons 띠 빠이 [tti ppai] |
The Ribbon and the Animal matching the respective Viewing Yaku: |
¶ Korean Alternative Yaku Scores
In some regions, yaku scores are significantly higher than original rules (especially in Sambong variant).
| Name of Yaku | Original Value | Variant Value |
|---|---|---|
¶ Typical Yaku |
||
| Pine, Paulownia, Baldy | 150 | 200 |
| Big Three | 150 | 200 |
| Little Three | 100 | 200 |
| Blue Ribbons | 100 | 200 |
| Grass Ribbons | 100 | 200 |
| Boar, Deer, Butterfly | 300 | 400 |
| Gun | 300 | 400 |
| Flower Viewing | 100 | 200 |
| Moon Viewing | 100 | 200 |
| Four Rains | 200 | 300 |
| Four Maples | 50 | 200 |
¶ Lucky Hand |
||
| Hand Three | 200 | 300 |
| Hand Three Irises | 200 | 400 |
¶ Additional Yaku |
||
| Boar, Deer, Butterfly Ribbons | 300 | 400 |
| Gun Ribbons | 300 | 400 |
| Flower Viewing Ribbons | 100 | 200 |
| Moon Viewing Ribbons | 100 | 200 |
| Hand Four | 300 | 500 |
| Hand Four Irises | 300 | 600 |
¶ Bibliography
- Hanafuda Geemu Dai Shōgō. iOS version, MocoGame, 2019.
- Johnson, Jason, and Antonietta Fazio-Johnson. “Six Hundred.” Hanafuda Games, Hanami ed., IndianWolf Studios, 2017. pp 41-45.
- Shiragiku. “Roppyakken.” Marguerite, www.marguerite.jp/k/Games/Hanafuda/Rules-600ken.html.
- 임철순. “[임철순의 즐거운 세상] 고스톱과 육백.”, Hankook Ilbo, 2014, https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201402060043410289
- 미래컨텐츠창작연구소, 화투의 기술, 21세기북스, 2015, pp. 100-115.
- 왕이로소이다. 화투-삼봉화투 치는 법, 2 May. 2012, cafe.daum.net/cheldoarirang/5wkm/235.